Offering an Amendment on the House Floor
Under a Structured Rule: Current Practice
Major legislation is usually considered in the House under a two-step process. First, the House
agrees to a resolution reported by the Committee on Rules that sets the terms for considering that
legislation. Second, the House considers the legislation under the terms set by the resolution. In
modern House practice, amendments are only offered on the House floor if these resolutions,
known as rules or special rules, permit them. Most of the time, the only practical opportunity
Members have to offer amendments to legislation considered on the floor is if a special rule
makes them in order. This type of special rule is referred to as a structured rule, and its
accompanying committee report will identify which amendments are permitted to be offered on
the floor. (A less common type of special rule, an open rule, allows Members to offer and debate
any amendments permitted under the regular rules and procedures of the House.)
The process begins when the committee with jurisdiction over a bill informs the Committee on Rules—which acts in
coordination with majority party leadership—that it would like the bill to be considered under a rule. If the Rules Committee
chooses to schedule a hearing regarding the consideration of the bill, it will announce the date, time, and location of the
meeting for the awareness of all Members. For bills that may have a structured amending process on the floor, the Rules
Committee will separately circulate a “Dear Colleague” letter specifying the text to which amendments should be drafted and
deadlines for submission to the committee for consideration. Amendments demonstrating broad bipartisan support (meaning,
at least 20 Democratic and 20 Republican supporters) that have been filed on time and are also in compliance with House
rules and procedures are afforded preference by the Rules Committee for possible consideration under the special rule.
Rules Committee meetings to consider a special rule consist of two parts: a hearing during which Members testify before the
committee and then a markup of the text of the special rule itself. During the hearing portion, testimony is typically heard
from the chair and ranking member of the committee with jurisdiction over the legislation proposed for consideration under a
rule. Other Members may also choose to give brief testimony in support of their proposed amendments, though this step is
not required for an amendment to receive consideration by the Rules Committee. The markup of the special rule affords
Rules Committee members the opportunity to debate the text of the proposed resolution, offer amendments to it, and
ultimately vote on reporting the resolution to the House.
The House must first take up and agree to a special rule before its provisions can go into effect. Once called up, a special rule
is debated for one hour, with time controlled by the chair of the Rules Committee, who typically yields 30 minutes to the
ranking member for purposes of debate only. After one hour of debate, a majority Member will move the previous question
in order to end debate on the special rule and proceed immediately to a vote on its adoption. A vote against moving the
previous question is often characterized as a policy vote by Members opposed to the special rule. If the motion is defeated, a
Member opposing the rule would be recognized for the next hour of debate and would have the opportunity to offer
amendments to the resolution. Members of the majority party usually vote in favor of ordering the previous question, and it is
therefore rarely defeated.
Once a special rule is adopted by the House, legislation considered under its terms is first subject to a period of general
debate before amendments are considered. Legislation and its amendments may be considered initially in a parliamentary
forum known as the Committee of the Whole if directed by the special rule. Which amendments may be offered, by whom,
and for how long they may be debated will all be specified in the text of the special rule. Some special rules allow for
amendments to be offered en bloc, whereby multiple amendments are called up, considered, and disposed of all together as a
single package. A Member is typically recognized for five minutes of debate after calling up an amendment, and, once
offered, an amendment can only be withdrawn by unanimous consent unless otherwise permitted by the special rule. When
amendments are considered and approved in Committee of the Whole, they are then usually subsequently approved in the
House by voice vote.
Members may choose to seek a recorded vote on an amendment. Proceedings on requests for recorded votes are routinely
postponed and clustered by the presiding officer in such a way that affords Members the convenience of voting on a series of
questions one after another at a scheduled time instead of as requests occur on the floor.